Splash guard



G. MARTINELLE ETAL SPLASH GUARD Filed April 15, 1946 INVENTOR. GUY MARTBN ELL! and.

B HARRY M. MWANN 7K1? flair ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 14, 1948 SPLASH GUARD Guy Martinelli and Harry M. MoMann, Indianapolis, Incl; said McMann assignor to said Martinelli Application April 13, 1946, Serial No. 662,065

3 Claims. 1

The resent invention relates to anti-splash devices and more particularly to devices for attachment to the heels of boots and shoes to prevent splashing on the footwear and clothing of a person walking in wet weather.

The invention has for one of its objects a provision of an anti-splash device which may be readily applied to the heel of the shoes of the user and, when not in use, is easily detached.

It has for a further object the provision of a splash guard which will prevent the water from the sidewalk from splashing or being thrown on the stockings or wearing" apparel of the user and which will have a means for accurately positioning the guard on the heels of the shoes of the wearer at the point where it will be most efllcient.

It has for a further object that of providing, as well as a means for preventing the splashing of water, the provision of an anti-slip means on the heel of the wearer to prevent slipping during wet weather.

For the purpose of disclosing our invention, we have illustrated certain embodiments thereof in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe showing our splash guard attached to the heel thereof;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the device illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal, sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a modified structure; and

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal, sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, we provide a preferably tubular heel embracing sleeve i which in cross section is preferably U-shaped, the ends of the U being connected by a transversely extending web. This sleeve, therefore, is shaped to conform to the usual shape of a .heel of a shoe and particularly to the shape of the heel of a ladys shoe or pump.

At the bottom edge of the sleeve i is provided an annular flange 2 which extends around the U- shaped portion of the sleeve and at its forward portion is inturned to provide front flanges 3. It is to be noted however, that these front flanges 3 do not extend all the way across the front web of the sleeve I, being spaced somewhat apart.

shaped apart, as illustrated, so that a comparatively thin web section 6 of the sleeve I may be readily stretched to fit over the heel of the shoe. The structure may be formed of a resilient material such as live rubber or the like and it is obvious that if the flange {were continuous, the material would be so heavy as; to preclude a stretching or expanding of the sl'eeve;v I over the heel. Y I H In the structure illustrated, in Figs. 4 and 5, the sleeve l' is extended downwardly as at I to a point, where when positioned, it would extend to the bottom of the heel of the shoe and the bottom portion of; the extension 1 is closed or partially closed bygcross webs 8, which form a bottom portion engaging the bottom of the heel of the shoe and forming in effect a "rubber heel.

Not only does thefbottom 8 of the sleeve provide a cushion andlanti-slip device, but it also provides a means for limiting the height to which the sleeve may be slipped on the heel of the shoe, thereby accuratelypositioning the splash device at the most effective position on the shoe heel. I Due to the fact that the cross ribs form openings, in the bottom of the sleeve 1, the device is particularly advantageous for preventing slipping in wet weather as it provides, to an extent, suction cups which assist the heel in firmly gripping the ground or pavement.

. We claim as our-invention:

1. An anti-splash device for footwear adapted to be'secured to the heel of a shoe and consisting of a tubular sleeveformed of rubber and having a wall curved to, conform to the back and sides of a shoe heel anda substantially flat transversely extending front wall rjoining the front edges of the rear and side wall's,zthe flat front wall conforming to the flat front face of the shoe heel and being transversely resilient to permit fitting of the sleeve on the shoe heel, and an integrally molded splash shield," comprising anannular flange on said sleeve extending around the rear and side walls of the sleeve with the forward ends of said flange extending partially across the front wall of said sleeve to leave a portion of the front wall free of said flange to permit unrestricted lateral stretching of said front wall and provide a splash guard for the front wall of said sleeve.

2. An anti-splash device for footwear adapted to be secured to the heel of a shoe consisting of a tubular sleeve formed ofv rubber and having a wall curved to conform to the back and sides of a shoe -heel and a substantially flat transversely extending front wall joining the front edges of the rear and side walls, conforming to the flat 3 1 front face of the shoe heel and transversely resilient to permit fitting of the sleeve on the shoe heel, and an integrally molded splash shield comprising an annular flange on said sleeve provided with a downwardly extending bead and extending around the rear and side walls of the sleeve, with the forward ends of said flange extending partially across the front wall of said sleeve and leavin a portion of the front wall free of said flange to permit unrestricted lateral stretching of said front wall and to provide a splash guard for the front wall of said sleeve.

3. An anti-splash device for footwear adapted to be secured to the heel of a shoe and consisting or a tubular sleeve formed of rubber and having a wall curved to conform to the back and sides of a shoe heel, a substantially flat transversely extending front wall joining the front edges of the rear and side walls, conforming to the flat front face oi the shoe heel and transversely resilient to permit fitting of the sleeve on the shoe heel and a bottom wall at least partially closing the bottom of the sleeve and an integrally molded splash shield comprising an annular flange on said sleeve extending around the rear and side 1 walls of said sleeve; with the forward ends of said sleeve extending partially across the front wall of said sleeve to leave a portion of the front wall 5 free of said flange to permit unrestricted lateral stretching of said front wall and provide a splash guard for the front wall of said sleeve.

GUY MAR'I'INELLI.

HARRY M. McMANN. 10

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent;

15 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,779,354 Blincow Oct. 21, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS 20 Number Country Date 22,944 Great Britain 1892 251,915 Great Britain May 13, 1926 517,527 Germany Feb. 28, 1931 666,085 France May 14, 1929 

